I love the HD Technology Fee!!! Man I hate cable companies! They are like that guy in the Lorax that charges for air.

Have you ever looked at getting into a bundle to see what that price is? I know that's why I signed up for Triple Play even though I don't use the phone (don't even have a phone hooked up). It's still cheaper than putting everything together.

That still likely won't reduce the cablecard fee.....and that's crazy they charge that much!

Ummmm ... isn't the first CableCARD free with Comcast? Or am I living in some past reality?

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It's only free when you don't have any other boxes on your account. My parents only have 2 Tivos.....each with an M-card. The first is free, the second is not. For me....they consider the Comcast box the first box and the cablecard the additional outlet.

They also like to label it Additional Outlet, like they somehow need to provide some extra services to get the cable signal to the outlet which is already wired.

I checked my account online the other day and saw that the HD Tech Fee was there again at $10... even though I had not seen it on my bill lately.

Honestly Comcast are complete and utter idiots with this billing mess they've created. I imagine at some point it will result in some kind of class action lawsuit due to them mis-leading customers (advertising package prices and then tacking on HD tech fee for example).

It's only free when you don't have any other boxes on your account. My parents only have 2 Tivos.....each with an M-card. The first is free, the second is not. For me....they consider the Comcast box the first box and the cablecard the additional outlet.

They also like to label it Additional Outlet, like they somehow need to provide some extra services to get the cable signal to the outlet which is already wired.

-Kevin

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Hmmm - I'll need to look into that. Last summer I gave one of my TiVos to my Mom who already had a STB. Picked up a CableCARD from the local Comcast office - installed and activated - no problem. I'm pretty sure that there was no extra charge.

At the time she had a strictly SD channel lineup, so perhaps the lack of HD makes a difference? I'll ask her for a copy of the bill to confirm.

Hmmm - I'll need to look into that. Last summer I gave one of my TiVos to my Mom who already had a STB. Picked up a CableCARD from the local Comcast office - installed and activated - no problem. I'm pretty sure that there was no extra charge.

At the time she had a strictly SD channel lineup, so perhaps the lack of HD makes a difference? I'll ask her for a copy of the bill to confirm.

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Yeah, take a look. I was always told that if you have a DVR on the account then a cablecard is a second outlet (since technically the Comcast DVR has a cablecard....it's just built in).

Would be worth checking anyway.....Comcast likes to add on charges little by little without telling you. I recently found out they were charging me for those "free" digital boxes (the tiny ones that allow you to get SD). I got a few back when they made the switch to digital. Well, they have been sitting in the closet for months, only recently did I realize they started charging me for them! And of course the charge started when my bill increased last time (the standard bi-annual cable increase), sneaky!

Would be worth checking anyway.....Comcast likes to add on charges little by little without telling you. I recently found out they were charging me for those "free" digital boxes (the tiny ones that allow you to get SD). I got a few back when they made the switch to digital. Well, they have been sitting in the closet for months, only recently did I realize they started charging me for them! And of course the charge started when my bill increased last time (the standard bi-annual cable increase), sneaky!

-Kevin

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<Dice> I hear ya! </Dice>

I'll check - trust me - my Mom cancels her service after Labor Day to save money (Shore house) so if there was something hinkey with the bill I'd hear about it

It's only free when you don't have any other boxes on your account. My parents only have 2 Tivos.....each with an M-card. The first is free, the second is not. For me....they consider the Comcast box the first box and the cablecard the additional outlet.

They also like to label it Additional Outlet, like they somehow need to provide some extra services to get the cable signal to the outlet which is already wired.

-Kevin

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The Additional Outlet fee is different from the cable card fee. The AO fee applies to any box/card beyond the first. It doesn't matter what equipment you have (cable card, STB, or DVR). There are separate fees for the card and at least where I am, the first card is free. Additional cards are $1.50.

Every Comcast franchise is just a shade different in their billing practices. It sounds like the original poster should complain, because the cablecard price is including the additional outlet fee (which some franchises do), but he's also getting charged an additional outlet. FCC regulations prohibit charging that much for just the cablecard itself, or at least they used to.

My Comcast bill is very cablecard friendly, but that's not the norm. Still, the cable franchises can't discriminate against outside devices.